A Christmas to Remember
by Bloodrayne666
Summary: Monalisa is excited to be spending her first Christmas with the turtles, but underneath she hides her secret sorrow. Will a certain turtle be able to give her comfort? COMPLETED!
1. Chapter 1

**Heya everyone! It comes so quickly doesn't it? Another year passes and it's Christmas Time once again! I've been wanting to write a TMNT Christmas fic but I couldn't think of a good one, but I think I thought of a good one.**

**Hope you enjoy it!**

**A Christmas to Remember**

**Chapter One**

"_Christmas time, Mistletoe and Wine__  
__Children singing Christian rhymes__  
__with logs on the fire and gifts on the tree__  
__A time to rejoice in the good that we see"_

Mona sang softly to herself as she sorted through the box of Christmas Decorations. There was a week to go until Christmas and she was making sure the lights were working and the decorations were all in order before the turtles arrived with the tree to put up in the middle of the lair.

As she held up some tinsel, she suddenly felt Klunk start to play with it as he took it in his mouth and paws.

"Oi!" she laughed as the ginger cat pulled at it "Let go you silly cat! It's for the tree not you!"

Klunk meowed and continued to bat the tinsel with his paws as Mona tried to pull it away from him.

"That darn cat!" came a voice from above. Mona looked up and saw Master Splinter looking down at her and Klunk.

"Naughty thing huh?" laughed Mona as she yanked the tinsel away from Klunk and placed it back in the box "Where are those boys?" she said "They should be here by now!"

"I'm sure they'll be home soon" said Splinter "I just hope they don't damage the tree on the way through the sewers"

No sooner did Splinter speak than some noises came from the entrance and Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo came in carrying a huge Christmas Tree on their shoulders.

As they walked in Michelangelo was singing '_**Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree**_' at the top of his voice.

"We're back!" shouted Leonardo over Michelangelo's singing.

"We can see that" said Splinter "And hear very clearly!"

"Can we put the tree down now! It's killing my shoulders!" said Donatello "Ok" said Leonardo "Set it down then we'll hoist it up!"

They dropped the tree and looked towards Mona and Splinter. Mona cocked her head on one side as she saw there were only three turtles.

"Where's Raphael?" she asked out of curiosity at where her mate was.

"Huh?" said Michelangelo who had stopped singing when they dropped the tree. The three turtles looked around.

"He was right next to me" said Michelangelo looking over his shoulder.

"Raph?" called Leonardo "Raphie boy?" said Michelangelo.

"Hrrpphhh!" came a muffled sound from the tree.

"Ahhh!" cried Michelangelo "The tree's talking!" "Heellllffff!" came the voice again.

"It's a speaking tree!" cried Michelangelo stepping back "Our Christmas tree is talking!"

"No it isn't!" said Donatello "Tree's don't speak!"

"Well this one does!" said Michelangelo.

As he stared at the tree he suddenly heard the voice come again.

"GET THIS THING OFF ME!" "That's Raphael!" cried Mona. Michelangelo ran over and lifted a branch where the voice was coming from and saw Raphael laying flat on his stomach with the tree on top of him!

"Hello Mikey" he said with a frown "Now, could you make yourself useful and GET THIS BLOODY TREE OFF MY SHELL!" he shouted the last words.

"Oh no! Sorry Raphael!" said Donatello grabbing one end of the tree and lifting it, then Mona and Michelangelo pulling him out from underneath.

"Oh hun, are you alright?" asked Mona hugging Raphael close. "I'm ok" said Raphael hugging her back "But I'm gonna kill those green morons I have as brothers for dropping the tree on me!"

Splinter giggled a little whilst Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo looked worried.

"Why don't you save the killing for later Raphael" he laughed "And help get this tree up?"

Raphael sighed in a disappointment

"Fine" he said letting go of Mona and walking over to help his brothers stand the tree up in the middle of the room.

Leonardo, Michelangelo and Donatello sighed with relief and stood the tree up in a large pot and filled it with earth.

It was hard work but they managed in the end.

"Phew!" said Donatello "That's was tough!"

"But we can at least decorate it now?" asked Michelangelo excitedly "Can we do it now? Can we? Can we please?"

Mona laughed at how excited Michelangelo was. He did look very sweet when he got really excited, he really was like a kid at Christmas.

"We can Mikey" she said in a sweet voice "Let's get started shall we?"

"Yippie!" cried Michelangelo.

The other turtles rolled their eyes but they instantly got stuck in to hang the decorations on the tree and around the lair.

As they decorated the tree Michelangelo began to sing again, this time he started singing Wizzard's 'I Wish it could be Christmas Everyday'

"Oh I wish it could be Christmas everyday!" he sang in a very loud off key voice "When the kids start singing and the band begins to play! Oh I wish it could be Christmas everyday, so let the bells ring out for Christmas!"

Raphael looked pained at Michelangelo's singing but Mona continued to laugh and sing along.

"Mona!" said Raphael "Stop encouraging him!"

Leonardo punched Raphael shoulder and chuckled "Leave her be Raph" he said "They look happy"

Raphael shrugged and pulled out some tinsel from the tree whilst Donatello placed a couple of ladders next to the tree so they could reach the top.

They started by placing some lights on the tree (_Donatello had made sure the lights were working before he placed them on the tree_) then placed the baubles and tinsel on the branches.

Mona smiled as the smell of pine filled her nose and warmed her up inside.

Splinter stood at the bottom of the tree and watched as his sons and Mona decorated the tree, he enjoyed watching them get into the Christmas Spirit and decorating the tree together.

Michelangelo still continued to sing and laugh as he hung a few baubles on the tree and tossed some tinsel to Leonardo who draped it over a branch.

"Hey!" cried Mona "Where's the star?" she held up the box of decorations and showed it was completely empty.

"I don't know where it is!" said Donatello from the top of the tree "Me neither!" called Raphael.

"Not guilty" said Leonardo "Don't look at me!" said Michelangelo stopping his off key singing to answer.

"Finally!" said Raphael "At least you stopped Mikey from singing horribly" "Hey!" said Michelangelo.

Mona laughed again and looked around until she saw Klunk on the floor playing with what looked like a shiny ornament.

Mona narrowed her eyes and walked over to the chubby ginger cat only to see that he was playing with the Christmas Star!

"Klunk!" she cried "Let go of that! That's the Christmas Star not a toy!" she tried to pull it out of the cat's paws.

Splinter laughed hard, as did the other turtles as Klunk meowed and kept trying to grab it with his claws.

"Damn your cat Mikey!" said Raphael "He had to go and steal the star didn't he?"

Michelangelo went a bit pink and shrugged his shoulders "He just wanted to play!" he said.

Mona soon succeeded and climbed the ladder that Raphael was on so she could put it on top of the tree.

As she tried to reach, she realised it was still a long way to reach, so Raphael bent down and lifted her up so she could place it on the top.

She succeeded and there it sat, the crowning glory of the tree, shining and sparkling.

"All done!" Mona called as Raphael gently lowered her down and nuzzled her neck making her giggle and stroke the back of his head.

Splinter rolled his eyes at the sight of Mona and Raphael nuzzling and kissing like lovesick teenagers.

"When you've finished up there..." groaned Donatello as he climbed off his ladder and put it away "We can start our little Christmas ceremony?"

Raphael laughed and picked Mona up Bridal style and jumped down the ladder ninja style.

"Fine!" he said "Let's get started"; he smirked at Mona evilly making her shiver in pleasure. He knew how much she loved his smile.

Michelangelo and Leonardo rolled their eyes and Splinter just shook his head at the love birds.

"Ok" said Donatello "Are we ready for the lighting of the tree?"

"We are Ready Donatello" smiled Splinter "It is a tradition we all love and one that Monalisa is yet to experience"

He looked up at Mona who was beaming and gripping Raphael's hand in excitement.

Donatello soon walked over with a button connected to the tree and all the other decorations.

"Ok everyone!" he said excitedly "Let us begin!"

Everyone then began to count down from ten, Michelangelo shouted loudly above everyone else as they counted down.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" shouted everyone, then Donatello pressed the button and instantly the tree and all the decorations lit up and sparkled making the whole lair look like Santa's grotto!

As it lit up everyone shouted at the tops of their voices "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Mona was almost swept off her feet at how beautiful the place looked.

"Wow!" she said "It looks so beautiful!"

"Doesn't it?" said Splinter "Well done my children, you have made this lair look so festive"

"Well that's the decorating done" said Leonardo "We still have the food and presents to sort out though"

"At least April and Casey are helping with the present buying topside and I've been able to go online and order stuff to send to April's" said Donatello "And they're coming around later to help"

"Very good" said Splinter "Until they arrive may I suggest we get all this cleared up and then we rest"

"Good idea Master" said Leonardo walking over to pick up the empty decoration boxes. Mona took out the vacuum cleaner and began to suck up all the pine needles and fallen strands of tinsel from the floor.

As she looked around the lair she felt her heart beat and her stomach tingle. The lair so looked so pretty and it was nice seeing everyone especially Michelangelo happy and excited about Christmas.

But deep down underneath her happiness and excitement, she felt a twinge of sadness. Her thoughts began to wander back to her family back in Wisconsion and how they would be dealing with Christmas.

This would be their third Christmas without her, never knowing what happened to her after those Purple Dragons kidnapped and attacked her.

Mona continued to vacuum around the tree and held in her tears not wanting to show anyone her hidden sorrow.

**Lol! I wanted to write a funny scene in there! Poor Raphael!**

**But poor Mona's upset. **


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter has a couple of flashbacks that may be a little sad, so get your tissues just in case!**

**Chapter Two**

As the days passed and Christmas drew nearer, Mona got stuck into getting the presents wrapped and making sure all the food for Christmas Day was nicely prepared.

The feeling she had in her heart was still hurting her, but she was determined to smile and not let anyone know what she truly felt.

When she had the moment to go to her room and reflect when everyone had a rest from Christmas preparations and ninja training (_Master Splinter had said that even though it was Christmas, they still had to keep up with their training and meditation, but he did promise there would be no training on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day_) she would open her wardrobe doors and look at the pictures she had of her family.

The pictures she had were from the Newspapers talking about her disappearance and her devastated family talking about her and how much they missed her.

There were some other photos she had found from a Memorial page and Memorial Facebook she found online.

These were ones that showed her when she was still human with her family and friends, including the ones that were taken when she and her friends were on their gap year before she was taken.

It was then Mona would let the tears she had been holding from everyone fall. She would stand there and let the floods of heartbreak and devastation roll down her cheeks.

Although she was happy she was spending her first Christmas with the turtles, and the man (_or turtle_) she loved, she was still upset that her family were spending Christmas without her, she knew that every time Christmas or her birthday would roll by, that they would feel a stab of sadness at the fact she would never come home.

Everytime she looked at the Christmas tree, she would think about when she and her two brothers Jake and Callum would decorate the tree and get excited about what Father Christmas would bring them.

* * *

On the day before Christmas Eve, Mona placed the last of the gifts she had wrapped for everyone under the tree.

As she looked up at the sparkling decorations and the coloured lights, she felt the tears come to her eyes as she wondered what her family would be doing when they decorated their tree.

Would they have tried to enjoy Christmas and do their usual traditions without her or would they still weep because she was no longer there?

As she placed the last present under the tree, she began to remember her final Christmas in Wisconsin.

_**Flashback**_

"_Mona! Mona!"_

_Mona looked down at her younger brothers Jake and Callum, as they held some decorations up._

"_You gonna help us? We gotta make the tree pretty! It's almost Christmas!"_

"_Indeed we must!" laughed Mona as she picked up a couple of decorations from the box and began to hang them on the branches of the tree._

_After hanging many pretty decorations including some chocolate decorations there as only the star to put on top._

"_Now for the crowning glory!" said Jake as he pulled out a sparkling gold star and held it up "Who gets to place the star on top of the tree?" _

"_I think Mona should do it!" said Callum "She's the best big sister ever!"Mona smiled at her younger brother and took the star before climbing a ladder to reach the top of the tree._

"_Reach up high sister!" said Jake "You can do it!"_

_Mona stretched high and placed the star on top of the tree completing the final look._

"_Yay!" cheered Jake and Callum "The tree looks beautiful!"_

"_It sure does!" said a voice behind them. Mona and her brothers looked behind them and saw their parents Calden and Gina looking at the tree and smiling. _

"_You did a great job kids!" said Calden "You all deserve your rewards!"_

_Mona, Jake and Callum smiled happily and waited for their father to tell them what their reward was._

"_You can go and play outside! Then you can have some Christmas Cookies and Hot chocolate in front of the fire and a Movie!"_

"_Hurray!" shouted Jake and Callum. Mona just grinned._

"_Race you outside Mona!" shouted Jake "You going to help us build a snowman?"_

"_Sure thing!" laughed Mona "And have a snowball fight!"_

"_YAY!" cheered Callum and Jake as they ran to put their coats and boots on to play outside._

_**End Flashback**_

Mona sighed as she remembered that Christmas;

They had built a huge snowman in the garden, then had a snowball fight in which they both got soaked! In fact Callum had put one snowball down the back of her neck and she had chased him around the garden before rugby tackling him and shoving snow down his front.

That was a funny time! Even though it was horrible having snow in her clothes, she loved the feeling of getting into her comfortable clothes for lounging around and having some hot chocolate.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day had been memorable when the rest of the family had come over and they had their Christmas Feast, opened their presents and played games or watched Christmas Movies. It was one Christmas Mona knew she would never forget in a million years.

Mona walked over to her room to have a few minutes to think.

The turtles were all finishing clearing up and had gone to watch the television.

As Mona left the main lair to go to her room, Raphael saw her go out of the corner of his eye and decided to follow and see if she was ok.

* * *

In her room, Mona stood in front of her wardrobe and looked at some pictures she had placed on the inside of the doors. Most were of her family, her friends, her martial art clubs and some pictures with her in them having fun when she was still human.

She wanted to get most of her sadness out before they would begin their Christmas party tomorrow.

The last thing she wanted was to be upset on Christmas Eve and spoil everything for everyone.

She had been living with the turtles for eight months and she had been happier than she ever had been in a long time, she loved being part of the team and fighting enemies and helping citizens whilst staying within the shadows and they had really made her feel like she was one of the family but the hurt from being taken from her family and that she would never see them again never went away and it still felt like a bullet in her soul.

Mona felt the tears fall as she remembered her first Christmas whilst living on the streets:

_**Flashback**_

_Mona laid curled upon the mattress in the abandoned house she now called her home. She shivered under the many blankets that did hardly anything to keep her warm. The sun's rays shone through the broken window in front of her and onto her face._

_Mona felt her stomach twinge slightly in sadness. Today was Christmas Day and she knew every child would be up early to check their stockings and the presents under their Christmas trees._

_Mona pushed the blankets off her body and walked over to the window, she had spent last night sitting on the roof of a local church to listen to the carols and it had brought tears to her eyes._

_She blinked her tired eyes and looked over the buildings as the sun rose above them. She remembered how excited her brothers got and how they would be up at the crack of dawn to wake everyone up._

_Now they would be just looking into her empty room and wondering what had happened to her. Tears fell from her eyes as she thought of her family and how they must be hurting as they woke up on the day that they were supposed to be together and there would be a gap at the dinner table and in their hearts. It broke her heart to think of it all._

_Mona walked over to the broken down fireplace and lit a fire hoping to warm herself. As she did, she stared into the flames and hugged herself welcoming the only warmth that was offered to her._

_**End Flashback**_

Mona closed her eyes and looked at the floor, those past Christmases had been horrible and she had never felt more grateful to be surrounded by her new family, friends and the one she loved.

But it was still hard knowing her family in Wisconsin were suffering from her loss.

"Mum...Dad...Jake...Callum" she whispered as her tears fell "I'm so sorry...I wish I could tell you, I wish I could see you, if only I could heal your hearts at this festive season"

As she continued to let her thoughts wonder, she felt someone touch her on the shoulder, Mona gave a yelp and turned around to see Raphael standing behind her.

"Whoa Raph" she said "You scared me"

"Sorry" said Raphael blushing in embarrassment "Didn't mean to"

"It's ok" said Mona trying to disguise the fact that she had been crying, but Raphael had already noticed.

"Are you ok Mona?" he asked "I've noticed you've been disappearing into your room every so often and your eyes have shown signs of crying"

Mona sighed, she guessed there would be no use trying to hide her true emotions, especially from her lover.

"I'm sorry Raph" she said "it's just being around all the Christmas preparations has made me think of my family and how they must be missing me, this'll be their third Christmas without me"

Raphael looked saddened for Mona and lifted his hand to wipe her tears.

"Oh Mona, I'm sorry" he said softly pulling her towards him and letting her rest on his shoulder.

"I know you miss them" he said "And I know how hard it is" he knew about the past Christmasses Mona had spent on the street and how horrible it was for her, it pained him to see his mate so upset.

"I'm sorry" Mona sobbed "I didn't want to ruin everything with my sorrow..."

"Don't be sorry babe" said Raphael "We all understand, and we're all here to look after you, it's our promise"

Moan hugged Raphael tighter and looked up. As she did, she felt Raphael's lips on hers and they shared a passionate kiss.

She felt so lucky to have Raphael as her mate, he was so caring towards her, especially after all she went through.

After a few seconds, Mona slipped away from Raphael's lips and nuzzled him, Raphael nuzzled her back and wiped her tears.

"We're about to watch our Christmas movies in a bit" said Raphael "We got popcorn, candy and mince pies, I just hope Mikey doesn't eat it all!"

Mona laughed at that part.

"Hey that cheered you up" said Raphael, Mona smiled "You complaining about Mikey always cheers me up, I know why he annoys you" she said.

Raphael chuckled and took Mona's hand.

"Come on" he said "Let's go and join the others, I think Leo's put the first DVD in"

They both walked out of the bedroom and over to the TV area where everyone was crowded. There was a stack of Christmas movies and Mona knew they wouldn't get through them all tonight as there were so many.

Raphael sat on the sofa and Mona snuggled up next to him. As Raphael put his arm around Mona he felt sad for her.

He knew how upset she was and he wondered what he could do to make her feel better. He looked at the TV and tried to rack his brains to think of something to do for his mate.

**Awww, poor Mona. Thinking about her family at Christmas coping without her.**

**But it was nice to see Raphael comforting her. I wonder what he's planning to do for her? Guess we'll find out in the next chapter! Lol!**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Finally Christmas Eve rolled in and everyone was going to have a party in the lair before tomorrow when they would have their gifts to open and three different birds (_Turkey, Goose and Duck_) to enjoy at Christmas Dinner.

She stood in the kitchen with April as they rolled out some cookie dough to make gingerbread men.

As Mona rolled out the dough, she looked across to April who was humming '_Last Christmas, I gave you my heart_'.

She looked back at her own dough and pressed hard to flatten it before she placed the cookie cutter on them.

"We'd better get these in the oven quick to bake before Mikey comes in here" laughed April. Mona chuckled and placed some of her gingerbread men on a baking tray and put them in the oven.

"So this is the last lot then?" asked April as she put her gingerbread men in the oven.

Mona nodded "after those cookies are baked, we can ice them and put them out of the tables!"

"Great!" said April "We better make sure the main lairs decorated properly, I just hope Casey's not making a mess!"

Mona laughed loudly as she imagined April's husband tripping over decorations and getting tangled up as he tried to help.

They walked out of the kitchen and into the main lair where they saw Donatello setting up a table with a laptop so he could play some music and the other turtles were arranging the tables to put drinks and snacks on.

True to form, Casey was on the floor wearing a Santa hat and was tangled up in some tinsel and Christmas Lights!

April and Mona started laughing and pointing at him whilst Splinter stood over Casey with his arms folded and wearing a frown.

"Maybe you should help the ladies in the kitchen and leave the decorating to someone less clumsy and unlikely to make a mess of things" he said.

Casey grinned a sheepish grin as Raphael and Leonardo tried to get him untangled.

"How on earth did you get yourself tangled in the tinsel Casey?" asked Leonardo.

"I dunno!" said Casey "It just got caught I guess!"

Raphael and Leonardo finally managed to get Casey untangled and took over decorating the tables.

Casey glowered at April and Mona and stomped off to the kitchen. Mona then looked at the preparations for the party later tonight and sighed.

"You know April?" she said "This will be a Christmas to Remember!"

April agreed with a nod of her head.

"Your first Christmas with the turtles" she said smiling "It'll be a memory to never forget!"

* * *

That evening, everyone was all in the party spirit. The tables were covered with snacks and drinks including mince pies, Christmas gingerbread and mulled wine.

Donatello wore a Santa hat on his head as he played DJ and swung a bottle of beer in his hand.

Raphael and Leonardo stood by the drinks and talked whilst Splinter talked with April and Mona.

Michelangelo was already on the dance floor with Casey and were singing along to some of the songs that were playing.

As the music played and Mona had a couple of drinks, she almost began to forget about how sad she was feeling.

After a couple more songs, Michelangelo pulled Raphael, Donatello and Leonardo together and requested they sing Slade's '_**Merry Christmas Everybody'**_

They all agreed and Donatello turned on a karaoke version of 'Merry Christmas Everybody' and Michelangelo shouted "IT'S CHRISTMAS!" before he and Donatello sang the first verse of the song:

_**Are you hanging up a stocking on your wall?**__**  
**__**It's the time that every Santa has a ball**__**  
**__**Does he ride a red nosed reindeer?**__**  
**__**Does a 'ton up' on his sleigh**__**  
**__**Do the fairies keep him sober for a day?**__**  
**_

Then all the turtles joined in the chorus as Mona, April, Casey and Splinter clapped their hands and cheered:

_**So here it is merry Christmas**__**  
**__**Everybody's having fun**__**  
**__**Look to the future now**__**  
**__**It's only just begun**_

Then Leonardo and Raphael sang the next verse:_**  
**_

_**Are you waiting for the family to arrive?**__**  
**__**Are you sure you got the room to spare inside?**__**  
**__**Does your granny always tell ya that the old songs are the best?**__**  
**__**Then she's up and rock 'n' rollin' with the rest**__**  
**_

Then the turtles sang the chorus and the last verse together:

_**So here it is merry Christmas**__**  
**__**Everybody's having fun**__**  
**__**Look to the future now**__**  
**__**It's only just begun**__**  
**_

_**What will your daddy do**__**  
**__**When he sees your Mama kissin' Santa Claus?**__**  
**__**Ah ah**__**  
**__**Are you hanging up a stocking on your wall?**__**  
**__**Are you hoping that the snow will start to fall?**__**  
**__**Do you ride on down the hillside in a buggy you have made?**__**  
**__**When you land upon your head then you've been slayed**__**  
**_

Then finally the turtles and everyone joined in with the final chorus with Michelangelo shouting again "IT'S CHRISTMAS':

_**So here it is merry Christmas**__**  
**__**Everybody's having fun**__**  
**__**Look to the future now**__**  
**__**It's only just begun**_

When they finished singing everyone cheered and clapped and laughed.

"Nice work guys!" said Casey "Well sung my sons!" said Splinter laughing.

After that April and Casey sang a duet to _Tom Jones's_ '_**Baby It's Cold Outside**_' and Mona surprised everyone with _Mariah Carey's_ '_**All I Want for Christmas is You**__' _to which everyone got up and danced.

* * *

After a while, Donatello decided to play some calming Christmas music before starting karaoke again.

Michelangelo took an opportunity to load his plate with snacks whilst the others sat down to relax and listen to the music.

As soon as everyone calmed down, Raphael saw his opportunity to take Mona aside.

He walked over to Mona who was relaxing with a glass of wine in her hand.

"Mona!" he tapped her shoulder as he whispered.

Mona turned to him and she was greeted by him giving her a kiss on her cheek.

Blushing she was about to say something when he took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Come with me" said Raphael "I want to show you something, don't worry, we won't be gone long!"

"Ok" said Mona as she let Raphael lead her out of the lair and to the sewers to find the nearest manhole grabbing some coats, scarves and hats on the way for warmth and disguise.

They ran through a couple of tunnels in the sewers, as they did, Mona wondered whether Raphael would find his way back.

She pushed that thought to the back of her head, she knew Raphael knew the sewers from the inside out.

They soon came to a Manhole and Raphael went up first to push the lid off then reaching in to help Mona outside.

"When are you gonna tell me where we're going?" demanded Mona, Raphael gave her that evil look again.

"Good things come to those who wait babe" he said. Mona chortled a little, she knew how impatient Raphael could be and he was telling her to be patient!

Raphael took her hand and lead her through the dark alleyways until they appeared at the Rockafella Centre!

Mona gasped as she saw the largest and most glitziest Christmas Tree she had ever seen!

"Oh my...!" she stammered as she drank in the beautiful bright lights and the sparkling star at the top.

"The largest Christmas tree in New York!" said Raphael, "I remember seeing pictures of that tree!" said Mona "And I'd always wanted to see it up close and for real!"

"Well here it is!" said Raphael beaming. Mona let go of Raphael's hand and ran up close to the tree, as she did, she drank in all the other decorations such as the light up angels and their trumpets.

Raphael ran behind her and watched as she sat down on a bench and stared up at the tree and continued to admire the lights. Raphael sat next to her and put his arm around her.

"I wanted to show you something really beautiful Mona" said Raphael "I just felt so bad and sorry for you because you miss your family so much"

Mona rested her head on Raphael's shoulder.

"Aww hun" she said "you're so thoughtful, you know exactly how to cheer me up" she grasped his face and kissed him on the cheek.

Raphael blushed and nuzzled her.

"I know how much you miss your family Mona" he said "And now at this time of year it must be really hard"

Mona nodded.

"I just wish I could tell them where I am, and how much I miss them" said Mona "Even though I've never felt happier than I have in over two years, I still have this gap in my heart"

"And you always will" said Raphael "But you'll never forget them"

Mona looked at Raphael and gave a weak smile.

"You're right" she said as she snuggled up close to Raphael and stared up at the lights of the Christmas Tree.

"I'll never forget them, and I know they'll never forget me" Mona whispered "I'll still keep the love deep within"

Raphael smiled down at Mona.

"Merry Christmas Mona" he said kissing her forehead "Merry Christmas Raphael" said Mona hugging Raphael closer and looking up.

As she did, she saw a shooting star fly across the sky!

Snuggling close to Raphael she made a wish that she could send a message to her family in Wisconsin with the star.

"Merry Christmas Mum, Dad, Jake, Callum, I miss you so much" she whispered. A single tear fell as she rested her head on Raphael's shoulder and clasped his hand.

* * *

Meanwhile in Wisconsin, Mona's parents and her two younger brothers stood before a small memorial with Mona's name on it along with a weeping angel. The words on the memorial plaque read:

**Monalisa Freeman**

**Beloved Daughter**

**Loving Sister**

**Beautiful Friend**

**Gone but never Forgotten**

**May Her Light Shine Forever**

Even though the memorial was half covered in thick snow, there were some fake pink roses around it and there were some notes from mourners and friends.

One of Mona's brothers Jake placed a Christmas card by the memorial and whispered "Merry Christmas Big Sister"

Mona's other brother Callum placed his card at the foot of the Memorial and also whispered 'Merry Christmas'

Mona's mother sniffled as she placed her card down on the memorial, as did Mona's father. They then stood and huddled together to keep warm as they looked down at the memorial.

"This is our third Christmas without you my beautiful girl" sobbed Mona's mother "I hope that wherever you are now, you're happy and looking down on us"

"You should have seen the tree Mona" said Callum "It's so pretty! You should have been there to help us decorate"

"We also built a big snowman!" said Jake "But you should have been helping us!"

"We still bake cookies and make hot chocolate for you my angel" said Mona's father, "We never stop and think that one day, you'll walk through the door again and return to our lives, but we know that will never happen, but we never stop and think about you"

"Merry Christmas Mona" said Mona's mother "And a Happy New Year my darling girl" said Mona's father.

"Merry Christmas Big sister" said Jake and Callum together.

Jake then looked up and he saw a shooting star high above them.

"Look!" he cried "A shooting star! It must be Mona saying Merry Christmas to us from Heaven!"

Everyone else looked up and saw the star. Mona's mother started crying and Mona's father smiled warmly with tears in his eyes.

"Merry Christmas Mona" they all said together waving to the star as it soared across the sky before disappearing.

The after a few minutes of standing in silence at the memorial Mona's family turned and walked back into their house.

**Looks like the turtles make a good singing team! And poor Casey getting tangled in the decorations!**

**Aww! Wasn't that sweet of Raphael to take Mona to see the Giant Christmas Tree? **

**And I wanted to add a scene of Mona's family in the end missing her on Christmas Eve. **

**Hope you enjoyed it and it got you in the mood for Christmas! After all, just one more sleep and you get to open your presents from Santa! Hope you've all been nice this year!**

**I'm hoping to have some more Fanfic ideas for the New Year, both Ninja Turtles and Sonic the Hedgehog! So watch this space.**

**But until then, here's Bloodrayne666 wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!**

**See you all in 2013!**


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